By Tom Burnett CFA
On June 3, 2022, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the employment data for the month of May. Total employment increased by 390,000 to just over 152 million, down by only 822,000 from the February 2020 high (prior to the Covid-19 outbreak). The unemployment rate was 3.6%, unchanged from the previous month. Some 6.0 million workers remain unemployed, compared to 5.7 million in February 2020. The March and April figures were revised downward by a total of 22,000 jobs.
Manufacturing employment grew by 18,000 in May and the total is now just 17,000 below the February 2020 total. Over the past year, manufacturing employment has grown by 4.5% and now represents about 8.5% of total employment.
Average hourly earnings rose by $0.10 to $31.95, up 5.2% from a year earlier.
The next report will be issued on July 8, 2022.
Tom Burnett CFA is Director of Research